We all love our iPhones, and of course, they go everywhere with us. What about when you leave the comfort of AT&T’s network and travel abroad? Can I take my iPhone with me? Will cost me extra? These are very important things to know while planning that trip, and could save you from some massive inconveniences and not to mention a bundle of your hard earned cash. In this post, I will address some common questions and concerns, and give you the information you need to know before you go.
First things first, the iPhone uses the GSM cellular network. GSM is the most common type of cellular signal in the world, and more than 80% of all cellular networks in the world use this technology. The iPhone, is what is known as a ‘quad-band’ GSM phone. This means it supports all 4 of the common GSM frequencies in use today. This means of course, that yes, you can take your iPhone with you on your trip!
Of course, it is not just that easy. To use your iPhone abroad, there are several preparations you need to make, to ensure you are not slapped with a huge bill. By huge, I mean up to four figures, don’t mess with this! To put it in prospective, 1 YouTube video, could cost as much as $40 dollars to stream without the proper plan features. You will need to have an international roaming package added to your plan before you go.
For data, AT&T offers two different options for your trip. It is not pro-rated, and it is charged for one full month, even if your trip is not that long. For $24.99 and $59.99 you can get 20MB or 50MB of data, respectively. If this is not for you, make sure you have International Data Roaming toggled off on your iPhone. To do this, go to Settings > General > Network > Data Roaming. This will ensure your iPhone will not automatically ping the internet when you are not watching, for example to check email. You will still be able to use WiFi, at no charge, just as you can here.
For voice, AT&T offers international voice packages. Calling rates vary from country to country, so you will have to notify AT&T of which country you are going to, so they can add roaming for that country to your plan. A list of rates by country can be found here.
If you are visiting Japan or South Korea, unfortunately, you will not be able to use your iPhone. Those countries use the 2100MHz W-CDMA network technology there, and the iPhone is not compatible with it (yet!).
For more information, please visit AT&T’s International page.
I went to Australia end of March of 2008 with a un-hacked iPhone (1.1.4) sadly enough my iPhone did NOT work in Sydney or Cairns. Ironically my wife’s BlackBerry 8820 worked just fine – perfect signal etc. Both phones where on AT&T international plan and had data features turned off. Pretty sad that because I just turned in my BB Curve for a supposed quad phone.
That’s really odd Ed. I haven’t been to Australia, but when I was in Barcelona and Germany recently, my iPhone worked perfectly. Perhaps bringing it into ATT to have them check it out or get a new unit?
Weath that seams like a whole of a lot of trouble. I talked to my friend and he told me it was company called iphonetrip. What they do is rent iphones with unlimited data packages whether you are coming to United states or are traveling to Europe they set up Sim cards for your phone with whatever apps you need, like dictionary, travel guides, maps and so on. and for whatever country you need. i havent tried it yet but i will give it a go next time i am traveling to Europe and i need a smart phone.
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I was in Seoul in Feb 2008. My iPhone 3 did work there, but back home I had a large bill.